Did this blast to the past really need to be a two-parter?
Supergirl Season 6 Episode 5‘s premise was exciting and had a handful of good character moments, but its momentum slowed down during the second half. It left us wondering why the Midvale storyline was being stretched out.
It’s a concept that is worthy of a final season, and we are down for any excuse to feature the younger version of the Danvers sisters. Unfortunately, it seems as if the show is saving its very best of the “flashback” story for Supergirl Season 6 Episode 6.
Since Supergirl Season 6 is the show’s last, it makes sense that they would want to revisit some of their greatest hits. And after a slow start, it’s refreshing to see the writers circle back to what has made the series so great in the past.
Unfortunately, this special episode where Nia and Brainy traveled back to Midvale in 2009 slightly missed the mark.
The first half was great with the duo’s spaceship accidentally crashing into the high school’s baseball field. It caused them to encounter Kara, Alex, and Kara’s boyfriend, Kenny — who did not die in this post-Crisis world.
Nia: In 2009, I was twelve. Is this really what people wore to prom?
Brainy: Yes, ergo, it is the perfect disguise to will allow us to chillax on our mission. “Chillax” being a key 2009 phrase, along with “flossy,” “totes,” and, of course, the immortal, “wassup?”
Nia and Brainy are quite the comedic duo, and it was hilarious to watch them improvise a story to tell Kara.
But, after that scene, the episode slowed down immensely and a lot of the following scenes felt forced and unnecessary. We just wanted to get straight to the action.
There were many elements introduced towards the beginning of the hour — Nia and Brainy’s crash landing, the tension between the Danvers sisters, and Cat Grant arriving in Midvale.
But instead of jumping right into these issues, the show, instead, dragged them out so that they could end on a screen that read “To be continued.”
This was mostly to make way for a couple of new aliens to arrive on Earth and cause some more trouble in Midvale. However, these aliens could have been written out of the episode entirely.
In doing so, the events of this time travel adventure could have been condensed into one hour. But now Nia and Brainy have been abducted, which means that Kara will have to do a bit more saving.
It’s always a delight to see the young versions of Kara and Alex since the casting department did an exceptional job in hiring the actresses for their roles.
It is as if we are literally watching Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh playing their characters, Izabela Vidovic and Olivia Nikkanen are that good.
And their performances on “Prom Night!” were no exception.
Kenny: Still, can’t you use your ring to, you know, Dumbledore something up?
Brainy: No. What? No! It’s physically impossible to to create something out of nothing, Kenny!
Though the show is most likely saving its best for the next installment, the actresses still brought their all, especially when they got into a fight over maturity.
It’s hard to remember that Kara and Alex weren’t always as close as they are now. So it’s a punch to the gut to be reminded of Alex’s resentment towards Kara and her super abilities.
The tension between the two sisters was obvious from their very first scene.
Kara got into National City University but hadn’t yet told Kenny the news. Alex urged her to tell her boyfriend since he believed they would both be attending Midvale College, but Kara was hesitant.
Over time, this led to an argument over taking responsibility for their actions and who was the more mature sister. And Alex made it clear that she blamed Kara for her and her family’s shortcomings in life.
It was harsh, to say the least, but it was a reminder of how the sisters used to be.
The fight, in regards to the overarching plot, was quite random and did little to further the story. Of course, the argument hasn’t been resolved yet, so there’s still time to make it relevant.
I have always been a huge advocate for Nia Nal getting more screentime and complex storylines. So, at the very least, it was nice to see her finally get her time to shine.
Nia has been struggling with controlling and interpreting her dream powers for some time now and that’s in part because of her mother’s death.
Nia: My mom, I called her.
Brainy: Nia…How could you…why?
Nia: Because I can’t interpret my dreams and I need help! I didn’t talk to her, I just…I just needed to hear her voice and feel close to her.
Her mother never got the chance to pass on her knowledge to Dreamer, and now Nia has the chance to ask her mother anything.
She’s still alive in 2009, so it makes sense that Nia would try to reach out to her. Sadly, she only got her voicemail.
Normally, we would advise against messing with the timeline by avoiding loved ones in the past, but Nia needs this. Dreamer requires a bit of guidance to unlock her potential. We hope to see her reach out to her mother again.
Nia was not the only one struggling. Brainy continued to deal with all of the new emotions he was experiencing because he took off his personality inhibitors.
He was trying out an onslaught of coping mechanisms, but none of them worked.
It wasn’t until Nia sang her song — which was epic, by the way — that Brainy was finally able to center himself.
Brainy’s ability to control his emotions and his anxiety is going to be key for him and Nia to get out of the situation they have found themselves in.
The casting department has yet another win under their belt with C.J. — AKA Cat — Grant’s younger portrayal.
Eliza Helm was amazing as the eager gossip columnist and perfectly captured the very essence of the future CEO of CatCo. But it just made us miss Calista Flockhart even more than we previously did.
Kenny: I really, really hope she likes it.
Brainy: Of course, she will. There’s nothing women like more than physics well applied. That and a modicum of emotional vulnerability.
Grant’s appearance on the hour was merely an excuse to name drop just about everything central to the Superman and Supergirl character, and we are definitely not complaining.
This is what a final season is supposed to be about, and we hope to see more episodes that call back to the roots of Supergirl in the future.
What did you think, Supergirl Fanatics?
Do you wish that this two-parter was just one episode? Do you think that Kenny will show up in the present timeline? How much will the future change as a result of Brainy and Nia’s time travel?
And do you hope that Nia contacts her mother again?
Let me know in the comments, and do not forget that you can watch Supergirl online right here via TV Fanatic!
Supergirl airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
Sarah Little is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.